Ceylon Tea shines in Moscow

Ceylon Tea created history recently when the Sri Lanka Group Stand for tea was adjudged as the best country pavilion during the International food and drink exhibition, World Food in Moscow.

Russia is one of the most competitive growth markets and World Food attracted products of over 1,420 exhibitors from more than 60 countries around the globe.

The World Food is a premier international trade exposition held once a year for the food and beverage industry where the world leading organizations compete for business in Russia and CIS countries.

A majestically constructed Sri Lanka tea pavilion covering 90 square meters placed in a prime location at Pavilion two of World Food was the centre of attraction to many visitors. The stalls were decorated with Lion logo, seven GI logos and Ozone logo prominently highlighted in gigantic placards while rotating boxes in the shape of tea chests were mounted on top of the pavilion.

A 20 feet tea boiler at the entrance to the pavilion created a unique atmosphere which was the hallmark of the Tea Board booth which visitors would remember for a long time.

The ceremonial opening of the Sri Lanka tea pavilion was followed by a professional presentation on tea industry by Anil Cooke, leading Sri Lanka tea broker together with the newly compiled documentary film using two 52 inch TV screens that adorned the special stage and attracted many visitors to the pavilion.

The historical Estate Tea of the Year Competition final round was successfully completed at the center stage of the Sri Lanka pavilion with a tasting and judging contest by a panel of experts.

This activity attracted many customers to the Sri Lanka group stand. The judging and the tasting contest was professionally handled by two veteran specialists from Sri Lanka, Anselm Perera, Managing Director of Mlesna brand and Joseph Sinniah, a Director of the largest tea exporting Sri Lanka group, Akbar Brothers.

The Rusteacoffee Association which is the umbrella group dominating the tea and coffee trade in Russia also nominated six tea tasters to join the panel. The competition went on until the late evening and the specialized tea tasters performed a tremendous task to short-list the winners under gold, silver and bronze categories.

From the private sector, eight reputed tea companies participated as exhibitors within the Sri Lanka Group Stand.

A liquid tea service and a tasting session carried out throughout the exhibition period by two Russian girls clad in Tea Board batik saree added glamour to the environment.

They were ably guided by the new Tea Promotion Officer Tamara Nanayakkara stationed in Moscow and Manel Weerasekera from the Tea Promotion Division in Colombo. Black teas, green teas, flavoured teas and specialty teas provided by the eight private sector tea companies from Sri Lanka were served to the visitors.

Around 4,000 cups of Ceylon tea were served during the four days. The distribution of Ceylon Tea promotional materials was another popular feature. Teas sampled from all seven agro-climatic regions in Sri Lanka gave the opportunity for Russians to distinguish the difference in flavour, strength, colour and aroma establishing the diversity in Ceylon teas.

The companies from Sri Lanka received nearly 250 trade enquiries for the supply of Ceylon Tea products to Russia and other CIS countries. While all the tea exporters who participated from Sri Lanka were satisfied with the outcome at World Food 2011, activities carried out by Sri Lanka Tea Board for the promotion of Ceylon Tea enhanced the awareness and demand for the product.